Personal ballistic body armor, particularly vests and other articles, are formed generally of materials which serve to prevent penetration of a bullet or other projectile, and any other object that is forcefully applied to the armor. These articles are primarily used for the armed forces, but also have police and civilian applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,746 discloses a composite designed to be resistant to knife and ice pick stabs. The composite comprises a plurality of layers of woven polybenzoxazole (PBO) or polybenzothiazole (PBT) fibers, a plurality of layers with a tightness factor of at least 0.75, and a plurality of layers of a network fiber.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2002/0164912 is directed to a ballistic resistant fabric where the warp has at least three adjacent fibers where one fiber is of a first material and the two other adjacent fibers are of a second material. The weft has at least three other adjacent fibers where one fiber is of the first material and two other fibers adjacent to the one fiber are made of a second material. Fibers include PBO and poly(paraphenylene-terephthalamide).
U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0216595 teaches a formed metallic armor article having a metallic facing element and a fiber composite backing portion. Fibers used in the backing portion include polyethylene, aramide, liquid crystal polymers, fiberglass, carbon, and M5®.
PCT Patent Application WO 2005/001373 discloses a ballistic resistant material that has first and second exterior layers of a ballistic resistant non-woven textile and a layer of ballistic-resistant woven textile which is placed between the first and second exterior layers.
There is a growing demand to lighten the protective equipment worn by soldiers and police offices to improve their effectiveness and maneuverability in combative environments. Existing fabric systems and articles have shown limitations in performance against both fragment and handgun bullets at weights below current levels. Thus, a need exists for light weight, penetration resistant articles that are effective against fragments and handgun bullets, among other threats.